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Doing It For The Girls



It must be my week or two for a Disney hit, because I finally managed to hire out Frozen, and then last night my sister invited me to an impromptu screening of Maleficent. I love fairy tales in any form, and so both of them were highly anticipated movies for me this year.

One of the things I really enjoyed about both movies was the twist on the fairy tale in how the women came together to save the day, rather than relying on the prince.

Don't get me wrong. I love my romance and my happily-ever-afters, but one of my favourite things to read is when the heroine of a story has friends/family who back her up and love her, no matter what.

One of the major influences for me in writing the London Steampunk series is sisterly love. The heroine's in Kiss of Steel and Heart of Iron are siblings, and one of the aspects I wanted to explore between them is that sometimes they fight and argue and say things they don't mean, but when the chips are down, they can always rely on the other to have their backs. 

A part of writing that relationship comes from the last couple of years.  On my mum's side of the family, I have a stepsister and a half brother and sister who are a lot younger. About three years ago, my mum separated from her husband (my stepsister's father) amid what was a fairly horrible time for our family. One of the proudest moments I have from that time is how well we all came together, especially my stepsister and I, who are only a few years apart and have virtually been raised together. Indeed, I often don't bother to add the 'step' when I introduce her to people, because to me, she is and always will be my sister, no matter what type of different path our family takes.

In fact, when it came time to dedicate my latest novel, Forged By Desire, she was the first person who came to mind.



Forged By Desire follows the classic trope of friends-to-lovers, and friendship is one of the main themes. So it only made sense to dedicate it to one of my closest friends.

As for romances, I'm really enjoying the resurgence of strong female relationships that are coming to the fore. It's one of the reasons I really enjoy Kit Rocha's Beyond series - where the heroines all unapologetically stick together and totally have each other's backs - or Lisa Kleypas' Wallflowers series.

So, what are your favourite romance novels featuring strong female relationships? Got any recommendations to share with me?

Available Sept 2014


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Award-winning author Bec McMaster lives in a small town in Australia and grew up with her nose in a book. A member of RWA, she writes sexy, dark paranormals and steampunk romance. When not writing, reading, or poring over travel brochures, she loves spending time with her very own hero or daydreaming about new worlds. Read more about her at www.becmcmaster.com or follow her on Twitter, @BecMcMaster.


Comments

  1. I had such fun writing Billion Dollar Cowboy and exploring the dynamics between two very different sisters. I had one sister and she was my best friend. That does not mean we did not disagree (very often) but I would have fought a forest fire with a cup of water for her.

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